Friday, February 29, 2008

Director Steven Spielberg and producer George Lucas are in talks with reps from the Cannes film festival to bring the sequel to the event (which runs this year runs from May 14-25).

Were this to happen, it would serve as the movie’s official debut before its opening in theaters on May 22nd..

The folks at Dark Horizons are reporting that the studio is considering not opening the movie to press before its release, which means no advance screening junkets. That could either mean one of 2 things:

The movie isn’t worth much and the studio wants to hide it, or the studio knows the movie is critic proof and that any review would not impact the film's box office receipts

I find it hard to believe that the studio would want to hide the film for as long as possible because it's so bad. If the suits did decide to keep it under wraps--Why even consider a debut at such a high profile event like Cannes in the first place?

MIKE MATESSINO:It's hard to recall exactly how and when it came about but I think it basically came out of learning that the Rhino release was going out of print right around the time we started hearing about Warner Bros.' "Year of Superman" line-up.

So I think it was in early 2006 that Lukas made the initial inquiries and found out that licensing all the scores would be possible if it were done as a box set. We initially had a pipe dream of coming out in 2006 but as I didn't start actual work on the music until July we soon realized that this wasn't practical.

As it turned out I think we might have gotten "lost in the crowd" so it's nice that our release will stand out as an event of its own.

...DHARMESH: The orchestration of Superman: The Movie’s End Title sounds like a “finality” to a film rather than a larger than life beginning. The history of the Superman March is convoluted, and the main title, as heard in the film, is actually a combination of three different recordings.

Although the history is explained in the accompanying book, can you explain the placement of the tracks on the CD?

It's very hard to explain this without sounding confusing, and as you say pages 58-59 of the book provide an explanation for the three versions of the march, the two editorially created ones, and where they were used.

But as for how we came to program them on CD as we now have them, it all stemmed from my desire to present the score as Williams intended it. That meant beginning with the revised Prelude and Main Title, even though the march portion was, in the film, used for the end title.

I initially felt that same sense of "finality" that you mentioned, but after a while I realized that the score makes more sense with the composer's intended opening. If you put that version against the picture you'll see that certain flourishes of the orchestra are meant to synchronize with some of the animated space imagery.

So I'd go as far as to say that the sense of it being an end title comes solely from years of hearing it as such. Listen to the score a few times and you'll see that it works as it should. I have not been able to find out why the change was made, but it's the composer's intended opening and that's what drove the decision.

However, realizing that this could be slightly disorienting to certain listeners, we then came up with the idea of preceding it with something absolutely familiar to open the disc itself: the editorially created "Theme from Superman." This was the first track of the original 1978 album and it served, I felt, as a kind of overture, which makes the unfamiliar - but accurate - intended version work much better. This approach meant that the score would conclude with the end title that Williams intended, which is what was presented on the original 1978 album.

It was the march portion of that version which, in the film, was used for the main title. After the “Love Theme”, which concludes the film's end credits, we have the original Prelude and Main Title kicking off all of our alternates. It leads into the alternate of "The Planet Krypton" as originally intended (these were on separate discs on the Rhino release), and then the sequence of alternates ends with the film version of the “End Title”, which I felt gave us a satisfying way to bring the 2-disc Superman: The Movie presentation to a conclusion.

The editorially created film version of the Main Title likewise gave us a perfect way to open disc 8.

DHARMESH:After sampling some cues from Superman II, I was floored by the sound quality of the Ken Thorne material. It sounded vibrant and multi-layered. Some have insulted Ken Thorne’s adaptation as a “High School Marching Band”. Was Ken aware of this?

MM: I know recording engineer John Richards and his work, so I knew that if an original source was found that it would sound stunning. But it did still need a bit of work because I really wanted listeners to have the reaction you had to it. So I put some effort into punching it up and then Doug Schwartz followed through with that on his end.

Yes, Superman II was recorded with a smaller ensemble than for the first score, but it's no high school marching band unless England's have full string sections and choirs.

The way the music sounds in the film does create a false impression, though, and it's still a mystery why it was compromised to such an extreme.

Unfortunately, Ken did come across some of the comments about it a while back, and he was very surprised by some of the negativity. Superman II was something he worked very hard on and reading comments dismissing it so flippantly all these years later didn't make him feel too good.

So I hope this new release brings about some retraction of the 'high school band' comments. Some of London's best players were used for Superman II and the performance and recording quality are both excellent.

I would agree. At one time I owned the Superman II score on LP and thought the recording quality made the music sound like it came from a marching band. However, I have listened to samples of the SII score as released in the box set online, thankfully the quality is improved beyond belief...

If you are into this kind of film topic. Be sure to read the entire interview. It's worth the click.

"I see absolutely no value to the members in delaying these talks any longer," said Sam Freed, the guild's New York president. "We are dealing with serious issues. We should already be at the bargaining table."

The New York board says charges SAG's leadership "is ignoring the proven success of the strategy of early negotiations" and "wasting valuable time" by fighting with its joint bargaining partner, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA).

I agree. There's absolutely no reason on earth why the talks can't begin before March ends! After all that Hollywood's been through --Why would anyone want to let that much time lapse. The Directors Guild of America took just days to solve its labor dilemma once formal talks began...The actors union would be wise to make an effort to do the same...Why should anyone have to sweat it out till spring?

With Thursday's announcement that New Line will fold into Warner Bros., Will Ferrell laffer "Semi-Pro" takes on the added distinction of being the final release from Bob Shaye and Michael Lynne's standalone New Line.

Basketball spoof "Semi-Pro" should have no trouble dribbling its way to No. 1 at the weekend box office, although it faces some issues in being rated R. Previous Ferrell topliners "Talledaga Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby" and last year's "Blades of Glory" were both rated PG-13.

Weekend's other two new wide releases target the female crowd. Sony bows royal bodice ripper "The Other Boleyn Girl" in 1,196 runs, while Summit Entertainment debuts modern-day fairy tale "Penelope" in 1,166 runs.

On the specialty front, Miramax's "No Country for Old Men" will try to parlay its top Oscar wins into additional gains at the box office. Film goes from 1,101 to 2,037 runs in its biggest expansion to date. Film's cume was $64.3 million through Sunday, according to Rentrak.

Some had speculated that New Line parent co. Time Warner wouldn't announce New Line's fate until after "Semi-Pro" opened.

"Semi-Pro" is tracking well among men and boys under 25, although many are predicting that it will open well lower than Ferrell's most recent films. Last year's "Blades of Glory" opened to $33.9 million in March 2007, while "Talladega Nights" opened at $47 million in August 2006.

"Semi-Pro" is more likely to open only higher than Ferrell's "Kicking and Screaming" ($20.2 million) and "Bewtiched" ($20.1 million). "Old School," also rated R, opened at $17.4 million.

Studio had hoped for a PG-13 rating, but that to achieve that goal, director Kent Alterman would have had to cut too much language. Studio said it has a long tradition of supporting filmmakers.

"Semi-Pro" also stars Woody Harrelson, Andre Benjamin and Will Arnett.

"Boleyn Girl," based on the best-selling book of the same name, stars Scarlett Johansson as the Boleyn sisters and Eric Bana as King Henry VIII. Anne and Mary Boleyn, and their tempestuous affair with the king, also are the subject of a Showtime series that is returning soon for its second season.

The PG-rated "Penelope" is expected to do less business, but is showing awareness with younger girls. Produced by Reese Witherspoon's production company Type A, "Penelope," which toplines Christina Ricci as a young heiress cursed with a pig nose, plays in 1,166 theaters. Witherspoon and James McAvoy co-star.

Film marks the second release from Summit, which is trying to stake a claim in the distribution business...

Joshua Rich of Entertainment Weekly:

The funnyman's ''Semi-Pro'' will be No. 1, but an R rating might hinder its business

Thursday, February 28, 2008

The books chronicle the life and times of middle school student Greg Heffley as he tries to navigate its many pitfalls.

Nina Jacobson is set to produce the first flick, with the potential for a sequels down the road. The hunt is on for a writer and a director for the project.

While I have never read any of the books--One of the unique things about the popular books surely is the simple animation that Kinney uses. And while the words and tone can be duplicated on the big screen-the hand drawn fun is gonna get lost in translation.

Variety says that Relativity and Universal have just signed a big four-year deal to co-finance four billion dollars worth of new films. One of which in all likelihood is TLS sequel...

George Paige and Associates doesn't really have a reputation for producing high quality, big-budget product--But with the bigger studios in partnership with them--and if the sequel is even a modest hit, the stature of GPA will surely rise.

I love the original film. While I would agree that it may not be everyone's cup of tea...It's definitely better than most non fans give it credit... With the right creative forces behind it..A great sequel could be born-Can't wait to see what develops out of this news.

"We're back in the development business, but when it comes to production, everything is up in the air," said one studio chief.

The uncertainty has prompted Steven Spielberg to halt an April production start on the Aaron Sorkin-scripted DreamWorks drama "The Trial of the Chicago 7." He'll take the extra time to hone the script with Sorkin. Only Sacha Baron Cohen had been set to play Abbie Hoffman -- and is now looking at summer or fall start date -- when the prospect of an actor's strike should be in the rear view mirror.

Says one production [president]: "The studios are sick of it, and the actors are tired of being out of work. At the same time, we're all prepared for a de facto strike. Everybody is designing their production schedules to anticipate an interruption."

Execs say that the extra costs incurred to halt and re-start a film can range from $1million to $5 million on each production, a costly prospect if several films get unplugged.

Most studios are in the midst of shooting pictures that will be done by June and ready for release in 2009.

"Transformers 2" director Michael Bay said the labor cloud has made the process harder, but not impossible as he tries to keep the film on track for its June 26, 2009 release.

"If there is a strike, we shut down, but shutting down isn't that big a deal," Bay said.

"You make accommodations, you make a deal with vending houses on equipment and on the stages where you are shooting. You hope for the best, but you can't be incapacitated by the possibility that there will be a strike. We've got to get this town back to work. I can't imagine anyone wants another strike, we're all tired. Hopefully clearer heads will prevail."

Bay said that the sequel is still recovering from the writer's strike, and that he's playing catch-up after getting back his trio of writers, Ehren Kruger, Alex Kurtzman, and Roberto Orci,

"They did a detailed outline before the writer's strike, and now they are in Michael Bay jail, holed up in a hotel and working feverishly," Bay said. "We're paying for a beautiful suite and they are getting a lot of work done. Hiring three writers was unusual, but it has been a godsend in getting us to where we need to be. Somehow you find a way to get it done."

Several of the majors are setting additional plans for summer starts, based on the assumption that the SAG contract talks will be resolved without the kind of work stoppage that crippled the biz during the 100-day writers strike. The sense of confidence is bolstered by the fact that a group of top actors, including George Clooney and Tom Hanks are publicly putting pressure on SAG leaders to avoid such a defacto strike scenario and begin negotiations as soon as possible.

If that doesn't happens, their 2009 release calendars could get complicated...

While I think both the actors and producers want nothing more than to avoid another walkout...I think that the apprehension that exists is somewhat to be expected...Given all that happened during last few months...

Man I want to work for Bay! Being held "prisoner" in a nice (and expensive) hotel suite is a heck of a way to make a living.

Ganz and Mandel have proved their skill time and again. But poor Sternin and Ventimilia have the dreadful Surviving Christmas on their resumes. Perhaps the seasoned veterans can help the pair avoid the same mistakes.

The studio announced today that the film’s writers, Kieran and Michele Mulroney, are back at work on the script, with a final draft due to be handed to director:George Miller, who’s currently prepping in Australia.

The halt in production meant that the movie’s options on its cast had expired, but it would seem that there have been no problems getting Adam Brody (The Flash), Armie Hammer (Batman), Common (Green Lantern) and Megan Gale (Wonder Woman) , and D.J. Cotrona (rumored to play Superman) back to the table.

The actors been told to continue their training workouts for their roles...

Hmm...The restart happened pretty quickly.. Just yesterday. talking to The Sydney Morning Herald Miller described the movie's status as "precarious"...

I'm sure the insurance co. is just hedging their bets-given Hollywood's recent history...But I would also say it's that recent history that ought to motivate The Screen Actors Guild get off their collective butts and start talking...And avoid a re-hash the last 3 months come Summer '08.

The last Museum flick took in more than $100 million more than Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines did worldwide. But Terminator's head start as a franchise, overall buzz, a popular star Christian Bale headlines, mean that, the CGI animals will have a tougher time. I'm betting on some heavy metal...

In what could hardly be dubbed a surprise, Sunday's Academy Awards telecast...took a tumble in the ratings, logging the show's smallest audience on record.

I was partly right with my ratings prediction...The strike had nothing to with the big drop..The show was just plain boring...and the more I think about how Jon Stewart (pictured) did--he was not the issue...I think the general public likes their flicks but could care less about what the showbiz crowd crowns the best.

The question is whether any of the principals will have anything to do with the sequel?

Damon has said in the more recent past he’d only be interested in returning to the character “maybe years down the road”, and even then only if the last two movies’ director Paul Greengrass is the man in charge.

Despite heavy demand for Greengrass, it seems the studio has indeed locked both of them up for a fourth Bourne movie, according to trade.

If true, I'm sure the fact that the last film was such a success and its double Oscar win in the tech categories will have had something to do with change of heart.

Meh. I know I'm very much in the minority here--when I say that the film series has never really revved me up all that much--Despite liking the skills of both Damon and Greengrass otherwise.

I found his comments on the release change from Christmas 2008 to May 2009 most interesting

It was not something I did, it was something I was told was going to happen. Actually I am thrilled the studio feels the way they do after seeing the dailies. I loved our original date of Christmas, but I think this date gives the film an even bigger opportunity for an audience.

And Abrams is already talking Trek 2...

Never read Dark Tower series but from what little I do know of it-the project screams Abrams involvement...

Overall the show was another snoozer...But there were a few things that perked it up a bit...

-Host Jon Stewart got off some funny lines tonight but his best moment came when he invited Best Song co-winner Markéta Irglová back on stage to give her acceptance speech after the orchestra drowned her out.

-I loved the Oscar at 80 montage.

-Best Presenters our fighting men and women over in Iraq-Despite how the Hollywood crowd really feels about them. It was better than not seeing them at all--who helped Tom Hanks hand out the Best Documentary Short Subject Award to Freeheld: The Laurel Hester Story...

The entire Final Destination series has been one big guilty pleasure for me from the start. The first Final Destination is still the best so far but the other films accomplish what they need to do to succeed in their own right. I expect #4 will do the same.

Does the flick really need the 3-D gimmick? That seems like a rather desperate ploy on the part of the filmmakers...Sheesh!

Saturday, February 23, 2008

"We've also been hearing sources at WB Burbank who believe that The Man of Steel is picking up speed and since the strike ended various "A" list writers have gone in with promising pitches. Bryan Singer is still attached and the studio big wigs are stillcounting on him directing the sequel"

The pair just sold a script called 2012. Refering to the year that some ancient calendars predicted the end of mankind. Kloser is a composer who scored the music forThe Day After Tomorrow and other films, but has also tried writting scripts like next month's10,000 B.C...

***The release date has been pushed back for thriller "Eagle Eye"-starring Shia LaBeouf- from August 8th to September 26th.

***Now that the "Cloverfield" monster is not a secret anymore it's being released in toy form by Hasbro.

Monaghan plays Barnell, a mysterious former military ally of Wolverine's civilian persona named Logan with the power to harness energy and electricity.

Henney is playing Agent Zero, a member of the Weapon X. He's an expert mutant tracker with great marksman skills.

Production is already underway in New Zealand...With plans to move to Australia and New Orleans.

Aside from the TV gig Monaghan already had a large fanboy following with his stint as a Hobbit in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy...His role here sends his geek cred into the stratosphere for all time.

Henney appears in his first American flick...What a way to get one's acting feet wet.

Sony's ensemble political thriller "Vantage Point" is expected to provide most of the mojo at the weekend box office among the four new major releases. Directed by Pete Travis, it bows in 3,149 theaters.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

The process was anything but enjoyable (or quick). Demand for something like this is always tricky thing to predict. Apparently, not even the folks at SAE were sure what would happen. There was so much additional traffic trying to log on the site this afternoon their internal server was clogged and by 3:02 PM it was down. After many failed attempts it took me about 2 hrs. and 15 minutes to complete the transaction.Very frustrating to say the least... Everything went fine. Because shortly afterwards, I checked, and the funds were already transferred.

The UK site Superman Cinema has devoted an entire section to the release...Among the information found within those web pages are detailed track listings and running times for each disc:

A. The Superman set is limited to an initial run of 3000 units. Because all of the music was recorded in Europe (and the Ron Jones material was a non-union session), FSM is not limited in how many they are allowed to make within the terms of their license. However, the sets are very expensive to produce so the decision to do a second run will be based on how well the first one does. But even if it happens it might not be right away.

Q. If there is another pressing, will they include the 160 page book?

A. It's too early to say what [Film Score Monthly] plans to do. They may elect to re-release the CDs with standard liner notes, but this is speculative on my part. I guess it depends on how quickly they sell the inventory.

Q. I have the Rhino discs; I don't want to buy Superman yet again! Can they release the soundtracks separately?

A. The terms of their license with Warner Bros.. only allows them to release the music in a box-set. Superman The Movie sounds superior to the Rhino release because the producers had access to the 6 track, which was used for the 2001 DVD release. The other scores are exceptional too, not just musically but sonically as well. It's your money, your choice.

Based on what happened this afternoon, I expect there to be an additional pressing at some point down the road...But the 2nd run will most likely be in "limited" numbers as well.

I can't wait to read that 160 page book of liner notes...!

I have the Rhino release...But considering the promised improved sound (and the other discs in the set) it's worth the re-buy.

I'll keep ya informed as to when the set arrives and then I will have more to say... I'm sure

Based on a portion of a memoir by British journalist Lynn Barber and set in early 1960s London. It tells the story of a 17-year-old girl (Mulligan) whose quiet life is turned upside down by the arrival of a 30ish-something playboy (Sarsgaard).

Noted author Nick Hornby (About a Boy") penned the script . Production will start in either March or April across the pond in London.

The flick seems packed with lots of talented folk. Given Bloom's status as a "hunk" lots of young female fans I would have expected him to have been cast as the playboy type...

The original story was set in ''New Tokyo'' in 2019, after a nuclear war. A teen biker gang member is subjected to a government experiment that taps latent powers, and the gang leader is forced to try and stop the destruction that lies in his wake. The new adaptation will be set in ''New Manhattan,'' a city rebuilt by Japanese money.

Ruairí Robinson is set to make his feature directorial debut on what is expected to be a two-part epic. Gary Whitta is adapting the screenplay. The first film is tentatively scheduled for a summer 2009release.

Given that anime has never been my cup of tea, to be honest my only reaction to the Akira news is "meh" Still there's no denying its worldwide popularity--I'm surprised its live action leap took so long to happen...

As for "Hole" it's a great read and I'm super excited that Fincher is taking the project on. I can't wait!

I had never even heard of "The Boys" before today...I'll either read it or wait to see some footage before forming an opinion.